Shazam for Android adds auto mode for background listening

Shazam, the handy app that figures out what song is playing on your behalf, just got a new auto mode that enables it to listen in the background. This new feature comes with the latest update, and is designed to make the entire process hands-free. If you’re walking through the store and hear a song you like, no need to stop and pull out your phone. Shazam will already be listening, will figure it out, and will add it to your list of songs.

Shazam, for those unfamiliar, is an app that listens to part of a song that is playing near you and figures out who the artist is and what the title is. It is a convenient alternative to trying to memorize some lyrics and Google them later, but not quite as convenient as the new auto mode.

Before, you had to pull out your phone when you wanted a song identified. This time, you can set the phone to auto mode and have every song that plays during that span of time automatically identified and the information stored in the “My Shazam” section of the app.

The feature is useful if you’re going somewhere like a club where you may encounter music you like, but not in a setting where you can comfortably pull your phone out every few minutes. The new feature supposedly won’t be a drain on your battery, though it’ll probably still have some degree of noticeable effect. You can get the new version of the app in the Google Play store now.